Tuesday, January 7, 2003

A story released today by the Associated Press reports that an Iowa man who says he spent more than $330,000 on his fiancee, buying her a fur coat, a Vera Wang wedding dress and a 9-plus-carat diamond ring, is suing to get his money back after she jilted him.

Joseph Bisignano, 66, a stockbroker from West Des Moines, filed a lawsuit in Polk County to recoup $129,000 in gifts and $201,259 in loans and purchases he made for Mary Toon, 54.

In the lawsuit, Bisignano accuses Toon of fraud, breach of contract and ``unjust enrichment'' if she gets to keep the gifts from their two-year courtship.

The lawsuit claims Toon ``initiated conversations about having a solemn engagement ceremony with invited friends'' and led him to believe they eventually would marry.

Bisignano bought Toon clothing, artwork, furniture and a diamond ring valued at $75,000, according to the lawsuit.

He also began to assist ``in the ordinary maintenance expense for her home,'' and loaned $165,000 to Toon to make investments and buy a truck, according to the lawsuit.

Toon’s lawyer, Steve DeVolder, said Monday that he would file a response by Friday.

``These are mere allegations,'' DeVolder said. ``That doesn't mean any of the allegations will stand up, or even that there is ... a relationship as he described it.''

Bisignano has had three previous marriages. He divorced in 1975, 1994 and 1999, according to Polk County court records.

He has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements and, at times, more than $1,000 a month in alimony to each ex-wife, court documents show.

Toon would have lost alimony from her ex-husband, Dr. Richard Toon, had she married Bisignano. A divorce decree in late 1999 says Toon, a cardiac surgeon from Des Moines, must pay his ex-wife 40 percent of his gross income. At the time, that meant Mary Toon received $11,666 a month. The payments would stop if Mary Toon remarries or if either party dies.